Mark Thompson, the former executive of The New York Times and the BBC, is one of several people in talks to lead CNN, according to three people familiar with the hiring process.
It is not clear how far the talks with Mr. Thompson and the other candidates have gone. But discussions indicate that David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, the network’s parent company, is looking for someone outside the pool of executives who have been leading the company since it fired Chris Licht as chairman in June.
Mr. Thompson declined to comment. A representative for Warner Bros. also declined. Discovery Commentary. Semaphore earlier mentioned CNN’s interest in Mr. Thompson.
Since Mr. Licht’s departure, CNN has been run by four people, three of whom – Amy Intellis, Virginia Mosley and Eric Scherling – are longtime CNN employees. The fourth is CNN’s chief operating officer David Levy, a longtime associate of Mr. Zaslav, who was hired shortly before Mr. Licht was fired.
The group tried to raise the morale of the employees, and it also initiated several important programmatic steps. These changes include adding a female anchor in prime time, retooling a morning show after Don Lemon was fired in April, and shifting Caitlan Collins to the 9 p.m.
In June, Zaslav told CNN staff that the search for the CEO would take several months. And there may be some added urgency now that the 2024 presidential campaign is about to begin in earnest. Fox News is scheduled to host the first debate between the Republicans on Wednesday night.
Whoever takes the reins will be in charge of one of the world’s pre-eminent news organizations, which has suffered an endless series of crises in recent years. Since 2021, two presidents have been fired, two former prime-time stars have been fired, an ambitious and expensive digital project has suddenly been aborted, ratings have plummeted and profits have plummeted.
CNN’s next leader may also be responsible for overseeing a plan to bring CNN more forcefully out of the fading world of cable and into the digital future. Mr. Zaslav suggested this this month when an analyst asked him if CNN could feature more prominently on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service.
During the company’s quarterly earnings call this month, Mr. Zaslav said Max was perfectly capable of integrating live programming, and promised investors he’d get more updates “soon.” He added, “News and sports are important, they are differentiators, they are compelling, and they make these platforms come alive.”
Mr. Thompson is no stranger to television. He started at the BBC in 1979, rising through the ranks of producer, executive director and eventually managing director. As the former CEO of The Times, he is credited with being one of the leaders who helped lead its financial transformation.